Provocation at Barton Moss

This morning (Wednesday 22nd Jan), in the wake of Monday’s brutal, shocking and inexcusable assault on a peaceful Legal Observer by Greater Manchester Police at the Protector Camp on Barton Moss Road in Salford, around 30 officers from GMP arrived with tree surgeons, who proceeded to sever the limbs and trunks of numerous trees along the roadside.

Protectors had erected a small wooden platform in one of these trees, in order to take aerial photographs both of the camp and the convoys of trucks heading for the IGas site further up the same footpath. The police had shown an interest in the platform, but at no point did they make any request for it to be removed.

As no one had wanted to hammer nails into the trees, the platform was tied on using ropes, meaning it would have been very easy for the police or the landowners (Peel Holdings) to have simply removed the platform if they felt it necessary.

This further destruction of the natural environment comes only days after police facilitated the clumsy and absurd pouring of concrete into a hole in the ground (dug by protectors for composting kitchen waste) – creating a huge spillage of concrete in a hedgerow.

In a recent poll conducted by the Manchester Evening News, over 95 per cent of responders said they felt fracking was not a good thing – despite suspected attempts by industry insiders to affect these figures

This morning a Barton Moss protector contacted IGas, Peel Holdings, Greater Manchester Police and the Forestry Commission about the destruction of the trees.

IGas referred the protector to Peel Holdings; Peel Holdings referred her to IGas; the Greater Manchester police refused to comment and Salford Council expressed extreme dissatisfaction with the situation but appeared to be powerless to do anything about it.

Protectors are still waiting for all of these departments to return calls in order to ascertain just exactly what the reasoning was for the mutilation of these beautiful trees which held nesting birds and various other wildlife.

Tammy Samede, a Protector at the Camp said today:

“These assaults on the ecology are further examples of how fracking companies create destruction wherever they go, showing little or no consideration for local people, communities or wildlife.

The question must be asked – what are our police doing being so involved in these things when they are apparently there to protect and serve the people? It seems glaringly obvious now that the police, appallingly, are being used by our government and the drilling companies to make sure that corporate interests are served above the interests of people and environment, with abject disregard for health or safety.

If the police are serving and protecting the frackers, who then is protecting us from the drilling/fracking and the destruction it shall certainly create?

This corporate monster rearing its head over our land has not only divided communities, destroyed natural environments and seen citizens assaulted by police, but it continues its attempt to strangle our democracy, choke our environment and gain its profits whatever the cost. It is now surely time for the British public to question these actions.”

Mark – Barton Moss Protector said today:

“The police are attempting to provoke a violent response from us by being violent and provocative themselves, in order to sully the reputation of the campaign and to absolve themselves from their own violent actions against us – which they are now fully aware that we intend to privately prosecute and publicly expose them for.

They are in the pay of IGas & Peel Holdings and are beholden to Salford City Council and the coalition government – all of whom have vested interests in the fracking agenda. They are manufacturing consent through the back door, without any concern or care for the people of the world.

To chop down trees in front of our communal space in front of our very eyes is an absolute violation of our human rights as individuals who care about the earth we stand on. We have no doubt that this was a symbolic gesture of contempt for our beliefs and our love for our earth and therefore should be classed as a crime against our person.”

Vanessa Vine from BIFF! – Britain & Ireland Frack Free said today:

“Something is very wrong. Our Police Officers who have sworn an oath to protect life and property are instead being made by industry/government physically to force through ecocidal corporate interests and increasingly to provoke, intimidate and injure peaceful protectors.

Industry/government is misinforming the people of this country on many levels over the unconventional fossil fuel issue – whether it be on energy bills, employment or about the history of high volume fracturing technology which – contrary to their repeated and reprehensible assertions – has been implemented ONCE in the UK (on the Fylde in the Spring of 2011 – and we have a DECC letter confirming same) during which it triggered damaging seismic activity.

British people have to ask themselves exactly what is afoot, when those empowered both to legislate for and to protect us, are instead deliberately deceiving us and putting our communities and our wild ecology at great risk.”

“The police are supposedly at Barton Moss to facilitate our peaceful protest, facilitation is service, it means that they should help us to do what we wish to do legally, however, police are normally only at the site when trucks are arriving in the morning and leaving in the afternoon, therefore the police are only facilitating trucks to the extent that they will assist said trucks in breaking the law such as driving without the proper number plates on numerous occasions, chemical spillage, breaking planning regulations in allowing vehicles to exit in any direction. This is not the only illegality that is happening on the Moss, GMP have injured many protectors, some seriously and I would say that the risks to protectors is so extreme that risk to life is inevitable. The police seem to have learnt nothing from previous incidents such as the tragic death of Ian Tomlinson.

I am deeply saddened at the incessant and ongoing brutal treatment of perfectly peaceful protectors by the GMP especially as these people are purely trying to stop the poisoning of their loved ones and the despoiling of their environment. At the moment I am in so much pain as pretty much my entire body has some form of damage to it but I sincerely hope that the publicity brought about by my injuries will be turned into a positive for the protectors of Barton Moss and I wish everybody a wonderful and happy weekend at Sunday’s Barton Moss Solidarity event and I’d like to thank everyone for their kind wishes and offers of donations to support our cause.”

Compost Pit dug for Kitchen waste

Police have it plugged with concrete.

Finished. Perhaps cheaper to have just used soil?

Trees cut down.

SOLIDARITY DAY Sunday 26th January
There is another big Solidarity Day with the Barton Moss Community Protection Camp this Sunday, with coaches coming from all over the country.
Meet 1pm Salford City Stadium